Welcome to the digital home of the Law Review’s Symposium on the Future of Law and Multiracial Democracy. Below, you will find the agenda of the event, links to recordings* of Day 1 and 2, and select photos of the event. As the Symposium Issue is edited and published, links to read the scholarship generated by this important conference will also be included.
The symposium was held on Thursday October 23rd and Friday, October 24th in Fitts Auditorium and Levy Conference Center at The University of Pennsylvania Law School. By bringing together leading legal scholars, as well as practitioners, judges, and law students, it explored the many facets of multiracial democracy and its intersection with the law.
The success of this event, the most-attended Symposium in the Law Review’s history, would not have been possible without our partners. We are proud to have planned this event Spencer Overton (George Washington University), Lisa Fairfax (University of Pennsylvania), and Charquia Wright (Florida State University). We are especially grateful to our premier sponsor, the Kettering Foundation, and to the Multiracial Democracy Project at The George Washington University Law School for their generous support.
*Please note that shorter recordings for each panel will be uploaded to the Law Review’s YouTube channel soon!
Schedule:
Thursday, October 23rd [Zoom Link; Passcode: XD%T$560]
- 1:30 – 2:15 PM
Keynote Fireside Chat
Damon Hewitt, Lawyer’s Committee for Civil Rights Under Law
Moderated by:
Spencer Overton, George Washington
Samendra Prasad, Vol. 174 Symposium Editor - 2:15 – 4:00 PM
Roundtable One: The Dismantling of Civil Rights Protections (1.5 Substantive CLE credits)
Framing remarks by Guy-Uriel Charles, Harvard, Ellen Katz, Michigan, Tabatha Abu El-Haj, Drexel
Moderated by Michael Morse, Penn. - 4:00 – 4:15 PM
Break - 4:15 – 5:15 PM
Panel One: Technology (1.0 Substantive CLE credit and 1.0 SHRM PDC Credit)
Danielle Citron, Virginia, Kristin Johnson, George Washington, Chiraag Bains, Democracy Fund, Spencer Overton, George Washington
Moderated by Chaz Arnett, Maryland. - 5:15 – 5:45 PM
Concluding Remarks
Samendra Prasad, Symposium Editor
Charquia Wright, Florida State
Friday, October 24th [Zoom Link; Passcode: m=39+Hyg]
- 8:45 – 9:15 AM
Breakfast & Check-in - 9:15 – 9:45 AM
Opening Remarks
Dean Sophia Z. Lee, Penn
Lisa Fairfax, Penn - 9:45 – 11:30 AM
Roundtable Two: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: Corporations, Education & Employment (1.5 Substantive CLE credits)
Framing remarks by Lisa Fairfax, Penn, Lia Epperson, American, Jeremiah Chin, Washington
Moderated by Song Richardson, UC Irvine. - 11:30 – 11:45 AM
Break - 11:45 – 12:45 PM
Panel Two: Courts and Racially Inclusive Democracy (1.0 Substantive CLE credit)
Charquia Fegins, Florida State, Charlton Copeland, Miami
Moderated by Tobias Wolff, Penn. - 12:45 – 2:00 PM
Lunch - 2:00 – 3:00 PM
Panel Three: Conquest and Revising History and Culture (1.0 Substantive CLE credit)
Juan Perea, Loyola Chicago, Elizabeth Hidalgo Reese, Stanford, Adrienne Davis, WashU
Moderated by Torey Dolan, Wisconsin. - 3:00 – 3:15 PM
Break - 3:15 – 4:15 PM
Panel Four: Immigration (1.0 Substantive CLE credit and 1.0 SHRM PDC Credit)
Kevin Johnson, U.C. Davis, Raquel E. Aldana, U.C. Davis, Evelyn Rangel-Medina, Temple
Moderated by Sarah Paoletti, Penn. - 4:15 – 4:45 PM
Concluding Remarks
Nathalie Rincon, Editor-In-Chief
Spencer Overton, George Washington
Roundtable Discussants:
The following professors have been invited to share their valuable perspectives during both of the Symposium’s roundtables:
Atinuke Adediran, Fordham; Raquel E. Aldana, U.C. Davis; Chaz Arnett, Maryland; Chiraag Bains, Democracy Fund; Jeremy Bearer-Friend, George Washington; Chaz Brooks, American; Franciska Coleman, Wisconsin; Kami Chavis, William & Mary; Taylor Dalton, Santa Clara; April Dawson, NC Central; Torey Dolan, Wisconsin; Tabatha Abu El-Haj, Drexel; Nathan Fleming, Wake Forest; Thomas Frampton, UVA; Jamila Jefferson, Kansas; Rachel Lopez, Temple; Dayna Matthew, George Washington; Christopher Mathis, Maryland; Serena Mayeri, Penn; Shaun Ossei-Owusu, Penn; Evelyn Marcelina Rangel-Medina, Temple; Sergio Alberto Gramitto Ricci, Hofstra; L. Song Richardson, UC Irvine; Omari Simmons, George Washington; Daiquiri Steele, Alabama; Tania Valdez, George Washington; Cheryl Wade, St. Johns
Every year, the University of Pennsylvania Law Review organizes a symposium on an important and timely legal topic. This year’s event, The Future of Law and Multiracial Democracy, will bring together practitioners, academics, jurists, and law students to analyze the current state of American democracy and shape the legal frameworks that will govern its future. Held in-person at The University of Pennsylvania Law School (virtual attendance possible) with breakfast and lunch provided, there will be panels on a wide range of topics, including: technology, education, voting rights, immigration, corporations, and constitutional law. An agenda of the panels can be found here. Below is a brief topic statement of the unifying theme connecting each of those disparate topics:
Although demographers predict that no ethnic group will constitute a majority in the United States by 2050, the future of multiracial democracy is increasingly precarious. Politicians continue to exploit cultural anxiety, racial resentment, and nativism to acquire and entrench political power. Tech platforms amplify these dangers by hosting targeted disinformation campaigns that fuel civic disengagement and racial division—problems that emerging generative artificial intelligence will only intensify. Recent Supreme Court decisions have further undermined multiracial democracy. Over the past twelve years, the Court has dismantled key voting rights protections, and its commitment to preserving electoral opportunities for minority voters remains uncertain given its growing skepticism of race-conscious measures.
While litigators, journalists, philanthropists, and activists are focused on challenging these actions through lawsuits and public commentary, few law professors have paused to consider the broader implications of these developments for the trajectory of multiracial democracy. Law plays a critical role in building systems that both respect identity and facilitate individual autonomy, while also enabling groups to evolve, recognize common interests, and form coalitions to address the most pressing challenges of our nation and world. The symposium will examine the history and future of that role.
The Law Review is proud to partner with Spencer Overton (George Washington University), Lisa Fairfax (University of Pennsylvania), and Charquia Wright (Florida State University) to present this Symposium. We are especially grateful to our premier sponsor, the Kettering Foundation, and to the Multiracial Democracy Project at The George Washington University Law School for their generous support.
This multi-day program has been approved for a total of 6.5 Substantive CLE credits for Pennsylvania lawyers. CLE credit may be available in other jurisdictions as well. Attendees seeking CLE credit can make a payment via cash or check made payable to “The Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania” on the day of the event or prior to the event via the online registration link in the amount of $260.00 ($130.00 public interest/non-profit attorneys) or $40.00/per credit hour ($20.00/ per credit hour for public interest/non-profit attorneys) if not attending the entire symposium. In order to receive the appropriate amount of credit, passcodes provided throughout the program must be noted in your evaluation form.
Penn Carey Law Alumni receive CLE credits free through The W.P. Carey Foundation’s generous commitment to Lifelong Learning.
